WOOD FURNITURE, CLEANING FURNITURE

DIY Furniture Polish Recipe You Can Make at Home

by Anita Alvarez

Making the house beautiful before guests come over often leads homeowners to the same bottle of dusting spray, but you can also whip out a tried-and-true furniture polish recipe and make your own. When you're in a pinch and out of the common cleaners you normally use, these polishes can do the trick to make your home shine just as well as synthetic solutions.

LEMON + VINEGAR

Look in your fridge and pull out some lemon juice and white vinegar, two foods most households benefit from keeping with them. You can use a fresh lemon or the bottled kind. Measure equal parts lemon juice and white vinegar, and mix well. If you have a spray bottle, pour the mixture into the bottle and spray your cloth or furniture where you need it. Otherwise, dab some of the solution onto the cloth, and rub it onto your furniture as appropriate. Follow up with a dry cloth to remove any lingering liquid.

LEMON + OLIVE OIL

If you don't have white vinegar, you can also make a preparation out of lemon and olive oil to polish your furniture. This time, measure 1 cup of olive oil to 1/2 cup of lemon juice. You can use the same methods for application: either a spray bottle or cloth. Follow up your polishing session with a gentle dry cloth or mop-friendly Soft Wipe to finish the job.

COCONUT OIL

In lieu of white vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice, grab some coconut oil. Present in some natural cleaners, coconut oil does a great job polishing wooden furniture. Apply about a half tablespoon at a time to a dry cloth and apply on side tables, chairs, wood frames and so forth. Buff the surfaces with your soft wipe to complete the cleaning.

Acrylic waxes you'd apply to tile are too extreme for most woods, according to the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA). Use these ingredients and a natural cleaner to polish, clean and maintain all of the wood products in your house with impunity. With a from-scratch furniture polish recipe, you'll be glad you paid attention to the valuable furniture and wood products you rely on to enjoy your home.

This article was brought to you by Colgate-Palmolive Company, the makers of Murphy® Oil Soap. The views and opinions expressed by the author do not reflect the position of the Colgate-Palmolive Company.